Jaguar Spirit

James Paul (Pablo), Guyana

Pablo is a digital marketer, podcaster, poet, and storyteller. He was born in New Amsterdam, Guyana's oldest town, and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. As a young footballer, Pablo represented Guyana's national team as a central defender and midfielder at the youth and senior levels. After attending college in Poland, Pablo moved to the United States in 1985. Pablo expresses his support for the Guyanese national team through the creative arts, including poetry, short stories, music videos, and podcasts. He has published books of poetry (Kneeling for Justice, Anthology of Poetry Posters by Pablo) and two memoirs (My Poor Dad and Behcet’s in Black).

My name is James Gregory Paul Sr, but I am known as Pablo (Spanish for Paul). My hometown friends gave me that name when I was five years old. I kept it as my nom de plume (Jaime Pablo) and my stage name when I perform spoken word. I was born and raised in New Amsterdam, Guyana’s oldest town, but now live in Georgia in the United States. 

Football has always been my passion from the very first time I kicked a football at age 10. The beautiful game has taught me many important lessons and habits such as discipline, work-ethic, resilience, commitment to excellence, respect, and professionalism, to name a few. I have internalized and transferred these lessons and habits to overcome many challenges in my life.

After migrating to the United States in 1985, I connected with Guyanese American footballers in Brooklyn and continued playing club and master’s football until 1998, when I blew out my ACL, ending my playing career.

I subsequently embraced administrative roles in local football clubs and leagues in Brooklyn before moving to Atlanta where I became a huge fan of Atlanta United FC. I love football because anyone can play. The game unites humanity and brings joy to players and fans all over the world from all walks of life.

Celebrating Our Culture

I am a proud Afro-Guyanese. Based on the sacrifices of my ancestors, I feel compelled to fulfill their dreams to be free, productive humans and work towards building a better world where all living things are respected; a world free of racism and bigotry; a world in which small multi-ethnic nations like Guyana can lead the world in modeling a better and more harmonious way of life and existence.

Now that I am retired, I have reconnected with my other passions, storytelling, and poetry. I have written and published a few books of poetry (Kneeling for Justice, Anthology of Poetry Posters by Pablo) and two memoirs (My Poor Dad and Behcet’s in Black) about my life growing up in Guyana and as a student and professional trying to carve out a better life overseas. 

Additionally, I perform as a spoken-word artist at open mic events around Atlanta and in New York, and I host a bi-weekly podcast, Pablo’s Kreolese Korner, to celebrate and showcase Creole culture and talent through music, poetry, stories, and edutainment.

Country Boys

I started playing football on the streets and schoolyards of my hometown with my friends. Historically, Guyana’s capital city Georgetown has been the beneficiary of the lion’s share of football resources and development at both the school and club levels. So naturally, the quality of football has always been at a higher level there compared to other remote parts of the country, including New Amsterdam. 

It was therefore harder for players like me to develop our game to a level where we could compete with the “City Boys”. Many of us “Country Boys” overcame this hurdle by relocating to Georgetown for school and/or work, where we joined elite clubs and played with the best local footballers in Guyana, thus elevating our game and improving our chances to make the national teams.

I moved to Georgetown at 16 in 1977 to attend Saint Rose's High School. While there, I joined Santos FC, one of the nation’s top football clubs. I quickly ascended from the junior to the senior first-team and represented the club in the D1 leagues. 

Reaching The Top

When I was 14 years old, Guyana’s national men’s football team, loaded with the best club footballers in the nation, were encamped for a few weeks in my hometown. I recall being awestruck by the physical and technical prowess of these players, a few of whom went on to play at the college and professional levels overseas. 

This team was preparing for Guyana’s 1978 World Cup qualifying games vs Surinam, a formidable opponent. In 1976, I traveled to Georgetown with my friends to watch our lads defeat the mighty Surinam team loaded with pros, to earn Guyana’s first ever victory in World Cup Qualifiers. I became a Golden Jaguars fan that day and was inspired to elevate my game at the club and county levels so that I could someday play for Guyana’s junior and senior teams.

My hard work paid off, and I earned my first of many junior national caps in 1978. The following year I earned the Best-Player award for my team at the Inter-Guiana Tournament which was hosted by Guyana. My sole senior cap came in 1983 in a loss vs Antigua in the World Cup Qualifiers.

The Power Of Words

I support my national team by attending their games whenever feasible or watching them play on TV, engaging with Jaguar players and fans on social media, interviewing players, writing commentary/editorials and creating related spoken word poetry. I also rock my Golden Jaguars green or yellow jerseys, as well as my national flag bandana.

I am proud of my country, heritage and the sacrifices made by my ancestors to build our fledgling nation. As someone who has benefited tremendously from public resources and sports and educational opportunities in Guyana, I feel obligated to support my country whenever I can and to help preserve, celebrate and showcase our unique culture and talented people through my stories, podcasts and poetry.

I love words. Writing poetry and stories have been therapeutic for me as someone afflicted with Behcet’s Syndrome since 1999. The storyteller in me gravitates to compelling themes and I incorporate elements of Guyanese culture, creative writing and cryptic poesy to craft free-verse poetry to inform, inspire and entertain readers.

I explore Guyana’s rich diversity as a land with six unique groups of people sharing the same geographical space, pursuing happiness and prosperity despite many recurring challenges. I tap into shared cultural elements around food, dress, language, and folklore that serve to unite and distinguish us as Guyanese. I strive to elevate the cultural consciousness and pride of younger generations of Guyanese in the Guyaspora.